Yesterday I was on duty to supervise the students on their field trips. Which meant I was required to go to Sun Moon Lake and the Night Market (not that this was a hardship, I wanted to go anyway). The trip to Sun Moon Lake is actually the same as if you were going to the Aboriginal Village. They're right next to each other. But where as the Village is a theme park/museum. Sun Moon Lake is all about tourists. It reminds me of Lake Geneva honestly; only less boating traffic, a bigger lake, and no swimming. We arrived and were immediately taken to our boats (we needed two) to go to our first stop, a shopping district on the other side of the lake. The water was this beautiful blue color, it was absolutely gorgeous. And since it was so hot, wind from the boat travel felt nice. When we got to the district we were given a time to be back before heading off to explore. I was hungry so I got some pork on a stick from one of the nice street vendors and proceeded to explore with a couple other teachers. It was quite clear, quite early this place was designed for tourists. A lot of tourist type stuff, street vendors, and other interesting sights.
A couple of teachers and I lost track of time at a tea shop where the owner made us tea the traditional way. And then a version sweetened with ice. It was amazing. I ended up buying the tea and the honey she used to sweeten it. After buying my tea I had to run to the dock to make the boat. Thankfully some of the students were late and I beat them there so all was good.
Our next stop was the entrance to the temple. You have to go up a winding path of steep stairs to get to the top. At the bottom was a guy pretending to be a statue and moving around to surprise the tourists. The kids loved him and according to them his sign said he was deaf. His reactions were amazing. I gave one of the kids who wanted a picture some money to put in his collection and he interacted with the boy giving me one of the best moments of the day (this was after we got back down from the temple by the way). Anyway back to the climb. I didn't even get past the first section of stair when a woman comes running up to me pantomiming taking a picture and grabs my arm so she can take a picture next to me. Apparently this is a right of passage for all expats as it happens quite frequently. I don't know it was a strange experience. So I managed to escape after 2 pictures and made my way to the top of the mountain. It was gorgeous and well worth the climb.
I went inside the temple with some of my students. I was instructed not to step on the threshold but rather over it. Not sure why but since that was how it was done that is what I did. The temple was small but lovely and I enjoyed it immensely.
Back on the boat we then went back to the main part of the lake where we began and were give 2 hours to explore. I met up with 3 of the school prefects and the younger kids (grades 6-7) who are not allowed to wander on their own. We all went to lunch together and I had some amazing pork wonton noodle soup. After lunch we went exploring and of course being middle school students they immediately found the claw machines and began trying to win mini-key chains and stuffed animals. Thankfully for the teachers across the way was wonderful drink shop where we got banana milks and chilled waiting for them to finish. Banana milk is just what is sounds like bananas blended into milk. It's very good. We did some more exploring before heading home on our buses.
After dinner it was time for the night market. To say it was overwhelming was an understatement. I managed to get one thing to eat octopus inside these dough balls topped with sauce and seaweed. Very delicious and very hot. After that the sheer amount of people, and burning my esophagus, kind of put a damper on my appetite. However, one of my coworkers was nice enough to buy me and the other 2 people we were with some papaya milk. It's made the same way as the banana milk and is absolutely amazing. After checking in the students it was decided rather than getting ourselves back into the crowd we would go enjoy some time in the nearby mall. It's taller than the mall that we went to earlier in the month but it was just as cool. I was shown an amazing bookstore by one of my students, I got lost in it for a half hour. It takes up 2 levels on the mall and is then split in to 2 levels on the second floor. It had a huge English section.
After heading back downstairs to wait for the kids and bus so we could head home, I stopped at the Starbucks and got a green tea cream... it's kind of hard to describe but it is amazing! I have a new addiction I am sad to say. After this we went home and and my boss was kind enough to send me home 30 minutes early to go to bed.
Today we are playing water polo (and by we I mean the kids are) and having a barbeque. It should be a nice relaxing day, the perfect way to wind down the weekend.
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